Ied

IED My legs like steel pistons when I ran, winning gold medals for galloping ovals. Lean, hard, taut, strong struts for farm work; pivot points for the Twist, Virginia Reel, or whirling my girl in a waltz. Twenty-mile marches with fifty-pound pack leading my company over rugged mountains and through waist-deep swamps. Legs that led our company on the silver bird and then off. In to the dirt, dust ,heat of the hell of Iraq. Leading the patrol slowly putting one foot in front of the other, feeling for the enemy. A loud boom, a thunderclap. The sudden stab of pain, heat, burning in my legs. Then, sudden darkness. I saw myself racing, legs carrying me across the finish line first in every race. Dancing with my girl. I came to in a soft bed. Looked down the white sheet To where it dropped To meet the bed.